Chapter 28

Grissom watched as Sara stormed out. There was a part of him that agreed with Russell, that Sara might be safer away from this all. But there was another part that didn't. That knew, no matter what the supervisor said, Sara wouldn't walk away from this. Couldn't walk away from it.

"Was she like this with you?" Russell asked, his eyes swinging from Catherine and Grissom.

"Oh, yeah," Catherine replied. "Though, I think Grissom had the worst of it." She shot her friend a cheeky grin. Grissom sighed, shaking his head.

"Sara's always been…" he started, trying to find the right word.

"Hot headed?" Catherine suggested with a laugh.

"Passionate," Grissom corrected. The FIB agent only rolled her eyes with a smile.

"Do you remember when she almost blew up that house collecting evidence?" Greg asked and Grissom found himself laughing at the memory. Not that it was funny at the time, but it was so… Sara.

"Why doesn't that surprise me?" Russell commented, dryly.

"Trust me, Russell," Catherine said, patting the tall man on the arm. "When it comes to supervising Sara, we had it easy."

"Look," Grissom said, drawing their attention. "I know Sara can get ahead of herself sometimes, especially if she's personally involved. But you know as well as I she's a great criminalist. One of the best." He looked over to Catherine who only smiled with a nod. "You need her on this case."

"You were the one just saying you didn't want her anywhere near it," Russell countered.

"I said I didn't want her anywhere near Jimmy. But the case? You won't keep her away from it. Even if you banned her form the lab."

"He's right, Russell," Nick said. "She'll keep working this. At least if she keeps working it with us, we can keep an eye on her." He looked over at Morgan and Greg, the two CSIs nodded. Russell looked between his three subordinates then over to Catherine, who simply raised her eyebrows with a shrug. Grissom knew the supervisors main concern in all this was Sara, and he couldn't fault him that. But he also knew Sara. Sara, who would sooner chop off her own hand than willingly walk away from a case like this.

"Fine," Russell conceded. "She can help us with the timeline and psychological profile on Dr Jimmy. But she doesn't touch the evidence." He stared down Nick and Greg, his expression stern and serious. "We can't have any doubt cast on it. We all know how a good defence attorney could spin this."

"You got it, boss," Nick said.

"Thank you," Grissom put in. Russell only shook his head and shifted his attention back to the files spread out before him. Catherine gave Grissom a shadow of a wink, which caused the sides of his mouth to pull slightly at the corners.

Turning his back on the criminalists, Grissom went in search for his wife. Now that was sorted, Grissom was determined not to let the woman out of his sight. A delusional serial killer with a fixation on them was hitting a little too close to home, and Grissom couldn't stop his mind from wondering back to what had happened the last time they were in this situation.

He could still remember the sheer terror that gripped him as he lifted that red car and saw the doll. Her hand moving against the sand. It hadn't been long, after he and Catherine had finished interviewing Natalie Davis' father, when he walked into his office and saw the miniature.

The trepidation he felt as he crossed the room to examine it. It was the second miniature she had sent to him directly. It was personal. But he had no idea just how personal it truly was. Grissom went on autopilot. Gently placing the car back into position. Putting on gloves and picking up the model. Walking through the lab in a daze, not even noticing when Catherine caught up to him.

It was only when they were in the layout room and Catherine put a hand to his arm, did he register that the woman had followed him.

"Gil, what it is?" Her eyes were flicking from the miniature to his panic-stricken face.

"Sara," was all he said. Catherine's mouth dropped open, and she lifted the car. Eyes widening as she took in the doll.

"How? Why?" She stuttered. Grissom didn't answer. He walked away without a word, taking his phone out of his pocket. Begging Sara to answer. Calling over and over again, only to reach her voicemail. When he got to reception, that was where things started to click into place. He knew who the miniature killer was, and how she got into the lab.

Back in the layout room, the rest of the team were gathered around the tiny crime scene. Trying to find something, anything that would tell them where Natalie had taken Sara. Greg found the car. Found the crime scene report. Lead CSI on the case: Sara Sidle. Grissom remembered that case, remembered working it with her. Touching her, not able to help his hand grazing down her arm. Natalie was at the crime scene. Watching them. Watching him.

She saw it. Saw what his team hadn't been able to see for two years.

"I don't get it," Warrick said. "What has Sara got to do with bleach?"

"I don't know," Catherine replied. "This just feels different."

Click. One more thing.

"It is different," Grissom said, not even realising he was speaking out loud. His eyes were fixated on that tiny hand. "This girl holds me responsible for the death of Ernie Dell. I took away the only person she ever loved, so she's going to do that same to me."

He didn't register the shocked looks of his team, or the way their eyes followed him as he walked out the room. Another thing clicking into place. They found Natalie, but no Sara. Grissom thought he was going mad. The desperation to find her, the worry and fear that threatened to overwhelm him. It was all pressing down, smothering him until he couldn't breathe.

Brass allowed him to interview Natalie alone. But when she became unresponsive, Grissom grabbed her. Shaking her. Yelling at her. His normal stoic and clam demeaner broken. Brass entered the room and had to remove him, bodily, before Grissom could do anything else.

He was broken. Lost. Adrift at sea, and Sara was his lifeboat. But he couldn't find her. He was drowning. It took every ounce of courage he possessed to keep going. To keep fighting. Sara wouldn't rest until she found him, and Grissom could do no less. Not when there was still a chance. Please, God. He would beg. Please don't let me be too late!

When they found Sara, lying in the sand, her skin pink and flaking. Arm broken. All of the oxygen seemed to have been sucked out of his body. And it wasn't until she opened her eyes in that helicopter did any feeling return. He was holding her hand, and her fingers squeezed his, gently.

The team met them at the hospital. Though Nick and Catherine were the only ones to enter her room. Sara was asleep, hooked up to various monitors and IV lines. They had put her arm in a cast and coated her skin with copious amounts of burn cream.

"How is she?" Catherine asked.

"Stable," Grissom replied. He was sat by her side, holding her hand. His fingers brushing over the rough skin. Sara's eyes cracked open at the noise and Grissom brought a hand to her brow. Smoothing her hair, careful not to aggravate the abrasions across her forehead.

"Gil?" She croaked.

"Hi, honey," Grissom said, softly. She smiled and a sob broke form his throat. Grissom buried his head in her neck, not caring for the two witnesses. His only thought was Sara. Her open eyes and soft smile. Everything came crashing down on him at once, and Grissom cried. Gripping her hand, breathing in her scent that was mixed with the cream lathered on her skin. Sara turned her head to him, pressing her cheek into his hair.

He could feel the tremors run through her as she cried with him. He didn't know how long Nick and Catherine stood there, or how long the pair of them held each other. But when the tears subsided, they were alone. He pulled back and brushed a finger across her cheek, wiping away the tears.

Now, it was happening again. Though the likely hood of her being taken was slim, especially now they knew who they were after, Grissom couldn't help the frisson of fear that coursed through him. They were targeted. Again. He just didn't know why.

Grissom quickened his pace, he needed to see Sara. To hold her. He caught sight of her leaving the AV lab. Her shoulders tight and her face set. When she saw him, her expression softened a little. But she didn't smile. They shared a look before she turned and headed towards the exit. Grissom followed.

He caught up with her as she leant against the railing, outside the building. Grissom stood beside her, leaning his forearms next to hers. Not touching, but close enough he could feel the warmth of her body. Sara sighed.

"I can't walk away from this, Gil," she said, not looking at him. Her eyes were surveying the car park, taking in each person that passed her line of sight.

"I know," Grissom replied. "It's a good thing Russell changed his mind then." Sara looked up at him, surprised. "You can't handle the evidence, but he's keeping you on. He wants you to put together a timeline and profile for Jimmy."

Sara let out a breath, almost on a laugh. Her gaze went back out to the carpark. Still unsmiling, yet content with the compromise. They stood in silence for a while. Grissom, just happy to be with her. When this was over, he needed to think about what he was going to do. In his heart of hearts, he wanted Sara to come with him on the Ishmael. For them to sail the oceans, continuing the work he had started for her. But he may not get the chance.

Sara's life was in Vegas. Her friends, her career. He wouldn't take her away from that. Maybe he could get a position at WLVU. He could arrange his working times to fit with Sara's, maybe even work as a consultant at the lab. Grissom smiled at the idea of working with her again, permanently. Yes, consulting sounded good. And possible lectures at the university.

"I just wish I knew why," Sara finally said, breaking him from his thoughts. "Jimmy doesn't even know you. Is he… he is trying to get to me? Punish me?"

"I don't know, Sara," Grissom replied. "I don't know why he's doing this."

"If anything happens to you…" she started, gripping her hands against the railing. "If I lost you, I don't know what I would do. I won't let that happen."

She was worried about him, scared for him. Just as he was scared for her. It hadn't even crossed her mind that she might be Dr Jimmy's target. She was only focused on him. Grissom turned his body to face her, reaching a hand to the back of her head. Slipping his fingers through the curls.

Whether this was about him, or Sara, Grissom didn't know. But now was not the time to dwell on his own fears. Not when she needed him to alleviate hers.

"Sara, look at me," he asked. She took a breath before turning her head. Grissoms hand slid to cup her cheek. "I'm still here, I'm safe. He can't get to me here, or at Catherine's." Sara closed her eyes and leaned into his touch.

"I'm sorry, Gil," she said, on a whisper.

"Sorry for what?"

"This is my fault. I…"

Grissom pulled her into his arms, cutting off the sentence before she could finish it. One hand settled on the small of her back, while the other cupped the nape of her neck. Holding her face to his chest. Sara's cheek pressed against his shirt and her hands gripped onto the fabric. She sighed as his arms encircled her. He held her tight, trying to protect her from everything that had happened.

"Do you remember what you said to me, after we found you in the desert?" He murmured into her hair. Sara stiffened slightly in his arms but made no move to pull away. She nodded. "You told me, I wasn't the cause. I was the excuse. You told me; I wasn't the reason she took you. Just the excuse she used to justify it." He pulled back slightly to look into her eyes. They were lined with tears, but her gaze was steady. Grissom brushed a thumb across her cheek. "You never blamed me, for what she did to you. Though I blamed myself."

"It wasn't your fault," Sara said, softly.

"And this isn't yours," Grissom replied. "You have done nothing wrong, Sara. Whatever this is, we'll work it out. Together." She sighed and Grissom lent his forehead to hers. "I love you, Sara," he told her, once more. She was yet to say the words back, but he didn't need her too. He knew how she felt. He knew she would need time before she could return the sentiment. But Grissom was patient, he could wait. A lifetime if he had too. They stood like that for a while, both taking comfort in the others presence.

People were moving around them. But if they took any notice of the embracing couple, they did not disturb them.

"Take me away from here, Gil," Sara said, her voice just above a whisper. Grissom's eyes flew open. She was looking at him with such earnest longing. Her eyes full of the emotion she was not yet ready to voice.

"What?" He asked, his heart thumping in his breast.

"When this is over, take me away."

"Where?"

"Anywhere," she said. "Everywhere." She cupped his cheek, fingers firmly holding his face. "Take me on an adventure. Put me on that boat and sail with me into the sunset."

Grissom searcher her eyes. She was serious. She was willing to leave. To drop everything, her life, her job, and sail away. With him. It was like an explosion within his chest.

"Are you sure?" He asked. He needed to be certain. Sure that this wasn't a reaction to the case, or the emotional roller-coaster they had been on for the last 48 hours. Sara smiled at him, the most peaceful smile he had seen on her face so far. She pulled his face to hers and brushed her lips across his.

"More than sure," she said against his mouth. Grissom kissed her, pulling her tight against him. Trying to put everything he was feeling into that touch. Sara arms circled his neck, angling her head and running her tongue against the seam of his mouth. Grissom forgot where they were. Forgot there were dozens of people walking around them.

He opened himself up to her, and Sara ran her tongue along the roof of his mouth before twisting it against his. His hand fisted in her hair and the other constricted on the fabric at the small of her back.

Someone cleared their throat from behind. Grissom and Sara jumped apart, both slightly breathless. Sara was blushing furiously, and Grissom turned to see Greg and Morgan standing behind him. Both of them grinning unashamedly.

"I don't think they'll mind," Morgan said to Greg, her pretty face lighting with amusement as she took in Grissom and Sara's flustered state.

"Mind what?" Sara asked, her voice a little shaky. She brushed a hand through her hair, which had snarled somewhat.

"Russell's order to go home," the blonde said. "He's sending everyone home, including this one." She pulled playfully on Greg's arm and the young man smiled fondly at her. Grissom's brows rose. How had he not noticed this before?

"I thought you and Nick were heading to Jimmy's?" Sara asked.

"We're waiting on the warrant. Once we have it, we'll head over," Greg replied.

Sara nodded her head. "Good, you should get some rest."

"You too." And, without further ado, Greg and Morgan walked away. Grissom watched as Greg opened the door to his Denali and give Morgan a quick kiss as she entered. Her face colouring prettily as she smiled, and Greg shut the door.

Chivalry isn't dead, Grissom thought as he watched the young couple drive away with a smile. Sara put her hand in his and raised her eyebrows.